FORMER Labour Cabinet Minister Alan Milburn last night asked the Conservative- led Government to make social mobility its top social priority.

In his first official speech to the House of Commons as social mobility tsar, Mr Milburn said he would examine the impact of increased university tuition fees.

In his new role, the former MP for Darlington will assess how the coalition Government’s policies impact on reducing social inequality, rather than taking an advisory role.

Mr Milburn, who was brought up on a council estate in Tow Law, County Durham, told MPs last night that his focus this year would be the contribution made by universities to reducing social inequality.

He said private school pupils were 22 times more likely to get a place at a top university, and 55 times more likely to go to Oxbridge than state school pupils who qualified for free school meals.

He warned that the boom in young people going to university was ending and universities would have to work harder to ensure they were guaranteeing fair access to the most talented from all walks of life.

He said that despite the efforts of universities to reach out to young people from all backgrounds, a rethink was needed because the action was not working or was working too slowly.

Reporting every autumn, Mr Milburn will make an assessment of what the Government is doing right and wrong in terms of social equality.

He told MPs the problem was a complex one, with a number of key moments in life that helped to define a person’s social class and earning potential.

Turning points included early years, primary school progression, performance aged 16, the chance to go to university, and incomes and career advancement in adulthood.

He said: “My contention is that it is not ability that is unevenly distributed in our society. It is opportunity.

“We will not create a mobile society unless we create more of a level playing field of opportunity.

“The core purpose of any modern progressive government should be to break down barriers of entrenched privilege and vested interest.

“That is what I will be working to achieve – regardless of who is in government.”